Greener Gifting

I started wrapping my holiday presents this week, and was struck, once again, by the amount of stuff required to make my gifts look festive.  I remembered the article from the December 2007 issue of Better Homes and Gardens where Sara Snow was asked for some tips on earth-friendly celebrating.  Did you know that if each family in the U.S. reused just two feet of ribbon we would save 38,000 miles of ribbon?  We could tie a bow around the earth with the saved ribbon!  Also, she says if every American family commits to wrapping three gifts in alternative wrappings (things like grocery bags, newspaper, old wall paper or fabric scraps) it would save enough wrapping paper to cover 45,000 football fields.  And... what about making sure your holiday cards are printed on recycled paper.  Each ton of recycled paper saves 380 gallons of oil and 17 trees.  I am going to try most of these tips.  Not only will I be saving the planet, I will probably save some money too!

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A Bigger Mailbox

I was so tired of wrestling the mail out of our tiny mailbox, so I bought this larger one which I was installing when Jeana dropped by one day this week. I whined to her about the ridiculous amount of catalogues & other junk mail I get each day... between them and the newspapers, we recycle a nearly full garbage can of paper each week. Jeana told me that Americans receive almost 4 million TONS of junk mail each year which requires 100 million trees to produce. Reduced trees = increased global warming--even I see the connection. She told me that she was able to remove her address from all mailing lists by sending $1 (for processing) to:

Mail Preference Service

Direct Marketing Association

P.O. Box 643

Carmel, NY 10512-0643

Still, I like having some catalogues and would be reluctant to do away with all of them. I know that I should contact each catalog I don't want and ask to be removed from their list (but hey, I'm lazy). Jeana had an easier solution. One option is to subscribe to Green Dimes. For a one time $15 fee, you will receive a kit of information that requires activation. You will have to register with the Direct Marketing Association to ensure removal of your name. Green Dimes will monitor the DMA lists to make sure your name stays off their members' mailing lists. You can tailor your list to continue to receive catalogs from the companies whose information you wish to receive. Green Dimes will plant 10 trees in your name when you subscribe.

Nicole told me about another option that she's used (that's FREE!)....she signed up at Catalog Choice and has stopped 60 + catalogues already!!!! Stephanie adds that Catalog Choice is a sponsored project of the Ecology Center. It is endorsed by the National Wildlife Federation and the Natural Resources Defense Council, and funded by the Overbrook Foundation the Merck Family Fund and the Kendeda Fund. That's quite the pedigree!

To stop receiving credit card offers, call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT. To stop receiving ValPak coupon packets visit: www.coxtarget.com/mailsuppression/s/DisplayMailSuppressionForm.

Guess I didn't need to buy that bigger mailbox after all.